


Reinforcements Against the Dinobots

by Moonrose91



Series: Competent Starscream [6]
Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alternate Universe, Competent Starscream, Gen, Miscarriage, Past Skyfire/Starscream - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-20 18:06:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9504233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonrose91/pseuds/Moonrose91
Summary: They are built by Starscream and Soundwave.Their bodies are scavenged from both Earth and Cybertron, their minds from their fallen Decepticon comrades so they don't need to be made from scratch.Their Sparks are grown in a lab.





	1. Building the Combaticons

**Author's Note:**

> So...in the first chapter there is a lot of mention of little baby Sparks dying, and hey, apparently Starscream has lost Sparkling Sparks due to stress and lack of his Trine being closeby, so miscarriage.
> 
> Since that disturbs a lot of people, understandably, just skip to the second chapter after the Combaticons have been built if you want to read somewhat about it.

* * *

Starscream doesn’t know which part is worse; the fact Megatron was demanding a Decepticon version of the Dinobots (only less idiotic) or the fact he was ordering Starscream to do so with Soundwave.

He was leaning towards the first.

“You are processing very loudly,” Soundwave remarked as he worked on repairing the severely damaged brains of fallen Decepticons.

Usually they were scrapped, but Megatron had given orders that they find salvageable pieces so Soundwave wouldn’t have to start from the beginning. They couldn’t handle _raising_ them after all, and Starscream sighed as he worked on building the body, the alt-modes all those scavenged as war vehicles.

A mix of Cybertronian metal and Earth metal, both scavenged and the Earth metal treated so it would hold up _almost_ as well as Cybertronian metal.

It was a learning process that required multiple scavenging trips as Starscream had worked on a process to do just that, removing what little free time he had had before. If he had ever had free time since becoming SIC.

“Do mathematical equations again,” Soundwave offered and Starscream glared at Soundwave.

“Why?” Starscream demanded, nearly wincing at the way his voice rose, cracking a little as it did so.

“Because they calm you,” Soundwave answered and Starscream stilled.

“Whenever you start to process very loudly, it means you are upset and stressed. When you do mathematical equations, even if they are for something that is stressful, you calm down,” he continued and there was a little chirp from Laserbeak overhead.

“Have you been stalking me?” Starscream asked.

“No. We merely spend a great deal of time together and my neural net always catches you. I cannot remove you from my neural net, thus, I have learned a great deal of your inner workings. Now, think of mathematical equations,” Soundwave responded.

Starscream was almost positive that long-winded explanation did, in fact, mean stalking.

He gave a quiet sigh, however, and began to do just that however, running the numbers as he continued to build the bodies of the future Combaticons.

Starscream didn’t hesitate to carefully shove Ravage away when he came poking around however, earning a low growl and a lashing of a tail.

* * *

Starscream reined in his desire to _scream_.

His Trine mates were trying to calm him down, even though all three of them knew that it was a pointless endeavor. It was laid out before Starscream in a manner that was something he didn’t want to think about at the moment.

He couldn’t generate a spark in his lab, he couldn’t exactly go walking over to the _fragging Well_ or whatever the Pit it was called at the moment, and he couldn’t--

Starscream violently cut himself off from that line of thought and turned to the machine he had built to generate a spark. He gave in and let out a scream as he sent the machinery to the ground, the parts breaking apart and splintering, even as he ran the cost of that.

Megatron wouldn’t be pleased and Starscream let out a sharp sound of derision as he slowly sat down on the ground, among the wreckage. He let his head thunk back against the wall and exhaled, slowly doing the math in how long it would take Megatron to learn about this, march down, and punish Starscream for _this_ failure.

It wasn’t helping this time, as it wrapped up in old counts and exhausted counts and one orn, two orn--

He violently cut off his thoughts again.

He felt Skywarp do that slight disconnect that meant he was teleporting and Thundercracker sighed quietly. _“Warp’s on his way,”_ Thundercracker said and Starscream let out a quiet snort.

 _“I can tell,”_ Starscream remarked flatly.

He could hear the slight whine-static as Skywarp dropped out of teleport and Starscream lifted his head just as the door to his lab opened. Skywarp didn’t hesitate, just came over and crouched down in front of him. “I’m guessing your fancy machine didn’t work,” Skywarp said and Starscream let out a hollow laugh.

“No it didn’t,” Starscream said and Skywarp shifted before he sat down next to Starscream.

Their wings touched and Starscream turned off his visuals as he let his head thunk back again. _“Starscream, this--”_ Skywarp said.

 _“Shut up,”_ Starscream cut in and Skywarp fell silent, even as a quiet humming filled the Trine bond.

Starscream just stayed there until Megatron came storming down, likely learning of the destruction from some ‘Con that wasn’t in the Aerial Corps overhearing.

Starscream went with Megatron quietly, despite Skywarp and Thundercracker’s protests.

* * *

Starscream was working on rebuilding the Spark-generator with both new supplies and scavenged from the wreckage, ignoring the way he ached.

Megatron had been displeased that Starscream had undone _that_ little piece of work, to put it mildly.

“You are distressed,” Soundwave remarked.

“Excellent observation,” Starscream responded flatly as he continued to work on the machine.

“You think it will not work,” Soundwave stated and Starscream, very pointedly, began to go through songs he had heard in Vos.

“That is pleasing to hear, but does not distract from the fact you are doing something that you know will end in failure, which you only do when challenging Megatron or charging at the Autobots to give others of your Corps a chance to get out of range,” Soundwave stated and Starscream slammed his wrench down.

“Leave it, Soundwave,” Starscream said quietly as he did his best to rein in his temper.

Neither of his Trine mates were overly pleased Starscream had gone back to work on this. It had started a spiral that Starscream couldn’t shake out and was getting worse the longer he worked on, as Megatron called it, the _Spark problem_.

Of course it was a Spark problem. It was _always_ a Spark problem.

Ravage was creeping around the machine, along with Rumble and Frenzy. “Get away from it,” Starscream grumbled as he waved at them, only to sigh heavily when both Frenzy and Rumble grabbed onto his arm.

“Make us, Screamer,” they demanded in one voice.

Starscream was sorely tempted to shake them off, but instead crossed to the inert body of one of the Combaticons and shook them off, carefully, until they were forced to let go, dropping down onto the body.

He then turned and walked back to building the machine, shooing Ravage away from his wrench. “Knock it off,” Starscream muttered as he focused on his work.

The calculations, however, weren’t helping now. He kept doing a countdown of orns, days, instead of focusing on that and he let out a frustrated noise.

Ravage let out a growl and swiped at the wrench. “You are being a pest,” Starscream said, earning a growl and a lashing tail before Ravage jumped off.

Starscream glared after Ravage and focused back on work. He maybe only worked an hour before the Cassettes moved to get in the way again.

Starscream paused to shoo them away, and once again deposited Frenzy and Rumble some distance from him on a raised surface. He was sure Soundwave had helped them down when he was distracted, considering Frenzy had been clutching at Starscream’s _leg_.

Another hour and this time it was Laserbeak and Buzzsaw that got in the way. He shooed at them again before getting distracted when Ravage grabbed onto the wrench.

“Soundwave,” Starscream said in a low tone.

“Starscream,” Soundwave responded.

“Why are your little spies interrupting me?” Starscream demanded.

“They do not like the fact you are working on something you know will fail,” Soundwave answered.

“It doesn’t fragging matter what _I_ think or _I_ want. Megatron has ordered it and it will be done and the attempts will begin anew once it is _completed_ . And I would prefer it to be completed _quickly_ ,” Starscream answered, even though he knew he _didn’t_.

He would rather it take weeks, months, if not _years_ for completion, and with no creation of false sparks.

“You are lying,” Soundwave said.

“Then I go back to the first statement. It doesn’t matter what _I_ want. It gets completed, and quickly, because it is what _Megatron_ wants,” Starscream snapped and focused on the machine again, pointedly ignoring Soundwave and his little Cassetecons, even when Frenzy actually climbed _up him_ to get his attention.

* * *

Watching these false sparks give out after an orn or two didn’t hurt.

Day. Day, not orn.

Starscream repeated that line to himself as he watched the spark flutter out and die.

It didn’t hurt to watch these false sparks give out after an orn--day or two.

It _didn’t_.

* * *

Two months, five skirmishes with the Autobots, and one battle that resulted in new parts to work into the Combaticons’ bodies later, and Starscream was sitting on the floor again.

He hadn’t turned on the machine and his Trine was getting distressed.

Starscream had been getting more reckless and he sighed as he leaned forward to run his hand over his helm carefully.

He needed to…pause on this.

He twitched when the lab door opened and he looked over, only to let out a soft groan as Soundwave walked in. “Have you thought of going to get a spark?” Soundwave inquired.

“Ah, yes, let me run right out and do that. Question; has there been a pulse lately? Or a harvest? Or a reach into wherever their origin is?” Starscream answered sarcastically and let his head thunk back.

“I meant have you considered carrying one yourself. While a poor solution to the problem with many pitfalls, it would be the best way, and age it within the machine to carry the full weight of the Comabticon body,” Soundwave answered and Starscream got to his feet.

Five orns, the longest count.

“No,” Starscream snarled and stormed out of his lab, heading for the exit.

He needed to go for a flight.

* * *

Starscream sighed quietly as he tapped his fingers lightly against the table, staring at the false spark.

It had lasted three days and he felt…something he was refusing to admit to feeling.

“None of the sparks have lasted five orns,” Soundwave said and Starscream dropped his head forward, ignoring how Ravage lay on his still hand, while Ratbat flew around his tapping fingers.

He was doing his best to ignore them for as long as he could, but they made that difficult. “Leave it, Soundwave,” he said quietly as he kept his eyes locked on the false spark, feeling his Trine mates’ rage light up.

They likely knew what Soundwave had just asked.

“You also keep referring to them as false sparks, even though you do not view them as such,” Soundwave added.

“Soundwave, shut up,” Starscream said, even as he felt that slight disconnect and he sighed quietly.

Skywarp would teleport further away than normal, but he was on his way.

And he was furious.

 _“I would stop him, but I am inclined to let him prank the mind-reader,”_ Thundercracker stated.

 _“Skywarp do_ not _prank your TIC!”_ Starscream shouted down the bond.

 _“Okay. I’ll just beat him then,”_ Skywarp answered.

 _“Skywarp, I_ will _throw you into Ocean Patrol with Thundercracker if you_ dare _to--”_ Starscream argued only to cut himself off as the false spark flared.

He focused on it intently, wings trembling a little as it flared again.

 _“Starscream, you have to calm down, alright? I swear, I’m not gonna do anything, just calm down, alright?”_ Skywarp said, though Starscream was barely listening to him, gaze and focus locked on the false spark.

It flared a third time and then stabilized. Starscream exhaled sharply and leaned forward a little, feeling his wings relax.

“There is also that,” Soundwave said and Starscream exhaled quietly.

“Soundwave, leave it,” Starscream said quietly and Soundwave, finally, shut up about it.

Starscream exhaled quietly and continued to stare intently at the false Spark.

* * *

Ten or--days.

Starscream wanted to laugh, but he didn’t have the energy, instead just carefully transferring it from one part of the machine to the next, to encourage growth. They couldn’t online them alone, as they were trying to create something akin to a Trine bond, though with, well, five of them.

They had to artificially age them so they were large enough to support the adult frames and he exhaled in relief as it settled. Starscream then moved around and began to work on starting the next Spark.

It was…difficult.

He exhaled sharply as the ten or--day Spark flared and Starscream felt his own Spark skip a beat, just as the new Spark stabilized. He exhaled sharply in relief and watched the little Spark while keeping half an eye on the older Spark. He nearly flinched when the lab door opened. “Soundwave, I am in the midd--” Starscream started to snap, only to still when he turned around to see Megatron there.

“Lord Megatron, my apologies, I had thought--apologies,” Starscream responded, ducking his head slightly.

Primus hated him.

“Starscream, I was curious how the Comabticon project was going,” Megatron stated.

“One constructed Spark stabilized fully at ten days. I have transferred it to the growth chamber to encourage accelerated, though not too much or it _will_ collapse, and have started on the second,” Starscream responded.

“If this keeps up, the Combaticons will be ready at…twenty days per spark, ten days for initial growth, and after it can be kept in the stabilization chamber, known to keep Sparks in a safe stable state for an embodiment after their original form is too destroyed to support a Spark anymore, though the Spark is still strong. Everyone should be ready in seventy days, or two months. Roughly. If anything goes wrong, it will take longer,” Starscream said.

He let out a short, sharp, cry as he was back-handed. “Not quick enough. Can you create more than one at a time?” Megatron demanded and Starscream stilled.

“I…have not attempted it. The energy needed to make even one and then further stabilize and grow it to the appropriate size, I had not wished to risk it, Lord Megatron,” Starscream responded as he clutched to the desk, already noticing that the two Sparks were flaring slightly.

“Create another, and two right from the beginning in ten day’s time,” Megatron ordered.

“Yes, Lord Megatron,” Starscream responded instead of arguing.

It wouldn’t do any good.

The Dinobots, when they hit the field, were too strong, too brutal, for them to confront head-on.

And Megatron was very obviously tired of losing ground.

“Good,” Megatron answered and walked out.

Starscream sighed and turned back to the machine. He sighed again and focused on the machine. He debated and then began to carefully work on changing it around, careful as he focused on creating a second Spark.

* * *

There were five healthy Sparks. They burned and hummed and Starscream huffed quietly, knowing he should thank Soundwave for the assistance of getting them.

He had caught his fellow ‘Con, barely, messing with the Spark generator machine, after one of the times his Trine had dragged him out of the lab to rest with them instead of in there. Starscream pretended he hadn’t known, but a quick check had shown that the Sparks were healthier after the interaction, so Starscream _stayed_ silent, never bringing it up with Soundwave. “You will need assistance,” Soundwave stated.

“I gathered,” Starscream said and just accepted the help of getting the Sparks into the bodies, knowing that they could be rejected and this could have all been for nothing.

He tried not to think about it.

It was a long, tiring, thing to do, the last two needing to be placed in simultaneously due to how they were created, practically twins without truly being so.

Possibly.

Starscream tried not to think too much about it and then he went to stand against the wall with Soundwave.

 _“What did you mean, Starscream, regarding the five orns?”_ Soundwave questioned in his mind.

 _“Get the frag out of his mind!”_ Thundercracker shouted.

 _“Out, out, out! You slagging fragger, how_ dare _you ask that?”_ Skywarp jumped in and Starscream sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I know it to be sensitive. However, the success of the Combaticon project has not lessened your distress and in some regions has in fact increased it. Such as your fixation on ‘five orns’,” Soundwave said outloud.

 _“Tell that fragger I am going to shove his head into his own cassette case if he doesn’t_ shut up _right this slagging minute,”_ Thundercracker snarled.

 _“Leave it,”_ Starscream said tiredly.

“It isn’t any of your business,” Starscream said quietly.

“This project has caused you great distress,” Soundwave repeated and Starscream didn’t hesitate to reach out and grab onto Soundwave, though he didn’t slam him into a table like he wanted to.

He had made sure that the Sparks were okay, and Starscream owed him that much at least.

He did haul Soundwave around slightly and he was surprised that one of Soundwave’s cassettes hadn’t dropped down on him to attack. Or leapt out of their place in Soundwave’s chest.

“Soundwave, it isn’t your business. You’re not one of my Trine mates and you're not my bondmate. We may be…something. I am not sure what, but that doesn’t give you a _right_ to know about _why_ I have been distressed this entire project. So _leave it_ ,” Starscream said in a low, sharp, cracking voice.

“Understood, Starscream,” Soundwave answered and Starscream let him go to focus on the Combaticons.

* * *

Skywarp hummed softly as he ran his fingers over Starscream’s helm, gently as Thundercracker mostly focused on staying calm. Starscream was resting against Skywarp’s chest, with Skywarp somewhat pinned to the berth, and Thundercracker reached out to run his fingers along Starscream’s wings.

Starscream’s distress was almost tangible; something in the room with them that they could reach out and touch.

They knew telling him that the medics at Iacon were wrong, that it wasn’t Starscream’s supposedly mutated Spark that had caused the Secondary Spark rejection, would make it worse.

Starscream had been the first, and last, Seeker (Skyfire didn’t count, Skyfire _wasn’t a Seeker_ , just a flyer) to attend the Academy of Science and Technology in Iacon. They hadn’t been allowed to go with him.

They had, in fact, been _barred_ from entering Iacon, and the loss of the Sparkling Sparks had cut Starscream deeply.

Twice.

Starscream had lost them twice, and they _knew_ Skyfire had been to partial blame over that.

But telling Starscream it wasn’t his fault, that it wasn’t…it just didn’t end well.

Thundercracker sighed and was careful as he joined them, curling around to wrap an arm around Starscream’s waist, pressing his forehead against Starscream’s left wingjoint.


	2. Memory and Loyalty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To sum up the last chapter to those who skipped it; Starscream created the Combaticons' Sparks with some minor help from Soundwave.

Skywarp and Thundercracker followed Starscream as he strode through the Aerial Corps, inspecting them as much as anyone in the Decepticon ranks was _inspected_. It was mainly Starscream checking them over for hidden injuries and seeing if he needed to readjust the Energon rationing or not.

It was always quick before Starscream either retreated to a patrol, his lab, or paperwork. Occasionally these times were interrupted by either Megatron or the Autobots.

Starscream liked them, however, so Skywarp put up with them, even when they made him bored beyond even Ocean Patrol levels.

He looked forward to the days the _squid_ came around. That made Ocean Patrol exciting.

Skywarp almost winced when he felt two perfectly timed figurative smacks upside the head from his Trine mates through their bond.

He whined at them through the bond, though they chose to ignore it when he noticed that the leader of the Combaticons at the entryway. He gave Starscream a small nudge down the bond, a quiet warning and Starscream turned his focus to the leader.

“What is it Onslaught?” Starscream demanded, even as he began to become upset.

Neither Skywarp, nor Thundercracker, were surprised by the use of the name, though it was a little obvious that most of the Aerial Corps were. Starscream generally only remembered the upper command and the Aerial Corps, regarding the others with a quick name only on the prompting.

Some would call it stand-offish.

Skywarp called it one of the ways Starscream coped.

But, technically, the Combaticons were _Starscream’s_ sparklings, artificially aged. Well, his and Soundwave’s but Skywarp tried not to think too much on that.

“Apologies Commander Starscream, but I require your assistance. Swindle seems to have wandered off with another Decepticon’s personal belongings and somehow Vortex became involved. I felt it necessary to bring you in as SIC,” Onslaught remarked and Thundercracker gave a mental snort of disbelief.

After the Combaticons had ‘awoken’ fully, both Skywarp and Thundercracker had noticed the way the Combaticons drifted toward Starscream. They came to Starscream with their large problems, yes, but hidden under that was something _else_.

Skywarp suspected that they _remembered_ Starscream. Remembered Starscream from when they were little Sparks in glass containers and the way he had cared for them.

Maybe Soundwave too, but definitely Starscream. Artificially aging them had also made a couple of them just a _tad_ insane. Vortex was the most obvious, along with Brawl, never considering maybe _leaving people alive_.

Swindle, well…Swindle lived up to his name.

Starscream let out a few choice curses down the bond and exhaled sharply. “Yes, let’s prevent a decimation to our forces. Skywarp, Thundercracker, stay here,” Starscream ordered and then headed over to Onslaught, before stepping out of sight.

“He knows their names?” Thrust asked quietly.

Skywarp snorted and then teleported away to their berth, grabbed the paint ‘balloons’ he had made and then teleported above Thrust, dropping them on him to prevent further questions regarding _t_ _hat_.

The resulting screech, then chase, was _well_ worth it.

* * *

This _particular_ clash with the Autobots was horrific.

The Decepticons, under Megatron’s orders despite Starscream’s _quiet_ protests, had attacked close to a human settlement to get a rather large store of Energon.

Understandably, it had ended with the Autobots coming in force and with their _best_ anti-Seeker forces. And since _enough_ knew about his right wing-sword, well…they had been aiming for Starscream’s right side.

The Pit-Forsaken Twins were the worst.

They leapt up, reaching and firing for Starscream, forcing him to keep himself out of danger while shouting orders and trying to keep someone in his Aerial Corps from being permanently grounded.

Which lead to him racing into Jet Judo range, firing his null rays as he went to keep Thrust from being that idiot.

He got caught on the right wing and he let out a sharp sound as he was pulled to the ground, thrown by the right wing into the ground. He slammed into it, leaving a long trench, and feeling his right wing crack slightly.

Well, he wasn’t going to be flying out of here. He wasn’t even going to be able to transform until that got fixed.

He spun up onto his feet, reaching for the right wing sword anyway when there was a roar and Onslaught slammed into one of the Twins, who immediately started screaming about his paint job. Starscream finished the motion and slashed through the other Twin, keeping him from going to the screeching one’s defense.

It was a vicious battle, more so than usual as Starscream prevented the Twin he was fighting from going to his screaming about his paint job Twin. Who Onslaught seemed very intent on beating into the ground, though he wasn’t having much success.

An inexperienced fighter against experienced wasn’t the _best_ match.

Starscream shifted and cut through the other mech’s arm, disabling it, since he wasn’t able to get a clear movement to _kill_ the Twin. There was a shout of enraged pain from the other twin, even as Megatron shouted for the retreat.

Starscream engaged his thrusters and was up in the air, energon dripping from his sword as he flew up. Thundercracker was quick to rush forward, grabbing onto him as he pulled up into the air, while Starscream backed up the call for retreat, though lying down commands for a covering fire as he did so.

* * *

Starscream grunted as Thundercracker and Skywarp worked on splinting his wing. _“We don’t have the supplies to fix this,"_ Thundercracker snapped down the bond.

 _“We’ll have to make do,”_ Starscream responded.

 _“_ You _need to be able to_ fly _,”_ Skywarp snapped back.

Starscream was about to respond when the door to his lab opened and Swindle walked in looking smugly proud of himself, dragging what looked like scrap metal. “How did you get in here?” Starscream demanded and Swindle snorted.

“Your security is sparkling’s play,” Swindle retorted as he suddenly deposited his scrap metal onto the ground.

“Seeker metal. No one alive. It was easy. A couple of wires. Okay, they were Autobot wires, but still. _Wires_. They were sadly pathetic over that,” he said with a grin as he waved at the metal.

Seeker metal.

“Where did you get that?” Starscream demanded ignoring the twin spikes of amusement from Skywarp and Thundercracker at that.

“Cybertron. It wasn’t that hard. A little deal there, a little lie there. Honestly, we need to get better security. The guards are _dupes_ ,” Swindle remarked and Starscream pinched the bridge of his nose.

He exhaled slowly, knowing he couldn’t really get angry. “You do realize that if you continue to con the entire Decepticon Army, eventually they won’t trade with you?” Starscream remarked flatly as he looked at him.

“Ah, but then who will they turn to for their black market goods? The last supplier decided he needed a career change, suddenly and unexpectedly,” Swindle remarked, still looking smugly pleased with himself.

“Besides, Seeker metal,” Swindle added and Starscream crossed his arms as he stared at Swindle.

“You did well. Just stop swindling your fellow ‘Cons. We don’t need them trying to offline you in some dark corner or throwing you in front of one of the Dinobots,” Starscream retorted and _now_ he could feel his Trine mates laughing at him.

Swindle gave a sloppy salute and then left, the doors to the lab sliding shut.

 _“Shut. Up,”_ Starscream said down the bond, which only had his Trine mates laughing out loud.

**Author's Note:**

> I use the AU tag for a reason.


End file.
